Is this meme funny? You be the judge...

A young woman with Downs Syndrome has become a meme and now the internet is debating whether its okay. Model and actress Madison Tevlin starred in the advert, intended to dispel misconceptions around people with Downs Syndrome, but the empowering video was quickly co-opted into a meme, and it has the internet divided. Is the meme funny? Is it insulting? Scroll Deep takes a closer look.

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[michaeledwards]

the original tweet seems to be very obviously an “i’m just like her fr” type joke merely referencing the cultural ubiquity of the image. it’s the same as if someone were to tweet “at the movie theater” and post a screenshot of the nicole kidman amc commercial.

[tumbleweedfish]

I have no idea why this is even a meme. She's just sitting there. Why did that first post even go viral at all

[ciara]

As an autistic person I actually had this exact problem happen pretty recently with the "accoustic" meme on tiktok (where people were calling autistic people accoustic rather than autistic). I really liked it at first because I thought it was an inside joke between autistic people but then I began to hate it as I realised that's not how it was being used. It was being used to make fun of autistic people. So I get the lack of trust with ablest people when it comes to this kind of thing

[spooky-spaghetti]

i know nothing about this outside of this video, but i see it more as a cheeky "me when i order a margarita" because of her sassy pose? idk i see it positively but it's not my place to say

[queenlucysroyalmaid]

I found it SO interesting that this advert came out, and then mere days later I went to a hospital for a doctors appointment and had a really shocking experience; the hospital had blocked off their disabled parking bays. Fortunately my mum went with me to the appointment because its a 1.5hr drive away (one way) to keep me company on the drive, but I can drive myself. Mum then went into the hospital to ask where I could park because the disabled bays were blocked off. The admin staff said "oh, just drop her off here and then go and find a parking space", mum replied "no, I can't do that, she's driving". The admin staff went "SHE'S DISABLED AND DRIVING?!?!?!?!" like it was truly shocking. When my mum told me that I DESPERATELY wanted to show that woman this advert, because that's the exact point the advert is making. Anyway, I love the advert, share it around, watch it, it's very important, for being inclusive for people with DS and also generally for disabled people inclusion. Okeeeebyeee.

[deureop]

i think the original tweet isnt a "haha funny picture" meme, it's a "haha i get the reference" kind of meme.

like when people tweet a screenshot of that one mean girls scene on october 3rd. there's nothing funny about a picture of lindsay lohan in a classroom talking to some guy or about the date itself, but it's an iconic scene from a very popular movie, and it's significant enough that people think about it everytime october 3rd comes. now people think about that really cool commercial everytime they have a margarita.

[Leslie.__.]

I understand the type of meme that it is and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it itself, but I agree with the people saying it’s tone deaf. The meme ignores/buries the point of the ad

[lelouchvibritannia]

My interpretation was more of a Stan twitter reaction image? Like she kind of looks sassy in that pose so I thought of it more as a “heyy girl let’s get a margarita 💅” type of thing. I didn’t know it came from a Down syndrome awareness ad until people started talking about it. But someone else commented about people being sceptical when abled people make jokes involving disabled people because sometimes you can’t tell if they are laughing at a joke or making fun of you, so I get both perspectives.

[freddie.spaghetti]

i think it’s kinda refreshing to see people use words like “tasteless” and “tone deaf” rather than like “this is deeply peoblematic and offensive”

[DrFranklynAnderson]

Lifelong wheelchair-user here. In my experience, being able to joke with/about me means you see me as an equal. Walking on eggshells around me means you see me as someone “beneath you” who needs to be “protected.”

[heathercontreras]

I definitely see both sides and I'll add that, in my personal opinion, I don't see this photo being used maliciously. Down Syndrome or not, it's relatable, no?

[Evanz]

This taking off like it did just makes me realise how uncomfortable people are around disability. You could say something completely innocent about it and suddenly people will doubt your intentions or claim you’re being offensive. Which in turn makes people feel like they *can’t* talk about it without possibly getting in trouble, and leads to this whole taboo surrounding it.

[yelhsasokolova]

Unrelated but she rocks that hairstyle better than I ever could, I'm jealous

[robdh]

I think it could be more about the sassy pose when some people order drinks.

[bandman]

Becoming a reaction image just means the image has a very specific vibe that someone can relate to! And it means your famous. There is no joke, just a shared experience.
I think it's great that we are relating the feeling of slaying and having fun night out with her!

[BeatrizKirshe]

As a disabled person (not down syndrome tho) this ad touched me deeply and I appreciate it a lot.
As for the meme, I kind of thought it was slightly funny when she asked specifically for a margarita, my first thought mas "why margarita and not a beer as an example?" so maaaaybe there's a bit of humour there. But the way people are using it seems more like calling someone an "icon" or "queen" in an ironic tone. But I do hope this at least brings more awareness to the commercial ❤

[jenniferjohnson-jbki]

It's a joke, a rather light one and as long as no one is bullying the woman directly I don't see a problem?

[Grace-erep]

I don't know what the joke is supposed to be but if it's literally just a screenshot with the caption "just ordered a margarita" then any offensiveness is just whatever people are randomly reading into it. There's nothing inherently offensive here as far as i can tell but maybe im missing something

[natey_TV]

If these people are asking if it's okay, they clearly don't remember "I can count to potato."

[katherinebarton]

I just assumed the poster was making fun of themself. Like, Madeline in the ad is so much cooler than us all. OP wants to order a margarita with an aura of coolness like her, but can they really? No. The answer is no.